Things were going great for Elway in free agency until Friday afternoon. That’s when he received a fax too late to keep defensive end Elvis Dumervil.

Can’t make this stuff up. #FaxGate was trending Friday on Twitter, after a fax snafu turned Dumervil into a free agent, even though he and the Broncos had agreed to a restructured deal.

According to The Denver Post, Dumervil’s agent, Marty Magid, did not fax back the signed contract in time to beat Friday’s 4 p.m. Eastern deadline. The Broncos would have been on the hook for $12 million guaranteed, unless they cut Dumervil before the deadline. So when the faxed contract did not show up by 3:59, the Broncos were forced to protect themselves by cutting Dumervil. Making matters worse for Dumervil, he might never return to the Broncos, because it would now cost them far more money against the salary cap to re-sign him.

Bizarre isn’t it? But believe this. Better to be Elway than Dumervil’s agent.

In fact, it’s better to be Elway than just about anyone else in Denver. Since becoming the Broncos’ executive vice president in January of 2011, Elway has made plenty of bold moves that have worked out better than this Dumervil thing. The biggest, of course, was luring Peyton Manning to Denver in free agency last year. On Wednesday, Elway hauled in another huge catch, signing slot receiver extraordinaire Wes Welker.

Elway is in the midst of an impressive second career—a great player who has morphed into a superb executive. That’s not easy. Jerry West and Ozzie Newsome have done it. Michael Jordan hasn’t.

It’s one thing to know how to play quarterback. It’s another thing entirely to direct a franchise that can win championships.

Elway gets plenty of help with the Broncos. But just like when he played quarterback, Elway acts boldly when his gut tells him to. At the NFL Combine last month, Broncos coach John Fox shared a little insight into what it’s like to work with Elway.

"John’s smart, he probably understands what a football player looks like, probably better than anybody," Fox said.

That came into play after Elway’s first season as an executive, when Tim Tebow was the Broncos’ starting quarterback and had just helped them reach the divisional round of the playoffs.

It was a delicate situation. Tebow displayed high character, leadership qualities and popularity, but Elway maintained the belief that the Broncos needed a better quarterback. So Elway dealt Tebow, signed Manning, and the Broncos never looked back. Compare that to the Jets’ mishandling of Tebow last season, and their reluctance to let him go now, even though he clearly does not fit into next season’s plans.

Elway is decisive about the Broncos’ direction. That’s why you like his chances to recover from this Dumervil setback. Maybe the Broncos and Dumervil work things out. Maybe Elway signs another pass rusher like Dwight Freeney, Manning’s former teammate with the Colts.

Whatever Elway does, he won’t mope about the Friday fax fiasco. At the Combine, Elway spoke about having the character to bounce back from setbacks. Losing Dumervil was not as bad as the feeling Elway had after the Broncos’ stunning double-overtime playoff loss to the Ravens, who went on to win the Super Bowl.

"I don’t want to forget last year," Elway said. "I don’t want our team to forget it. I want them to realize it was a great year, but also don’t forget that feeling of what happened in the playoff game. Be able to learn from that. Hopefully we can build on it and get better from it."

Elway has already succeeded in helping to build a franchise that players want to be a part of. Manning wanted to come. Welker wanted to come.

With Manning about to turn 37 years old on March 24, Elway knows he has a short window to get Manning back into another Super Bowl. Manning has had his share of crushing playoff losses, but collectively, Elway hopes the Broncos have learned something about how to win in the postseason.

"I believe you have to be tougher," Elway said. "You have to go through it. The expectations rise. Each game is so much—you don’t have next week. That’s why great teams flourish in the playoffs. If you look at the Ravens this year and what they did in the playoffs, it was impressive."

Next season, Elway wants to experience winning the Super Bowl as an executive, after winning two Super Bowls as a player. On Friday, a late fax ruined his day. But like any winning quarterback, or executive, you can bet Elway will quickly move on to the next play.